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Basic subject-verb agreement

Writing is a little like math. Let us explain! In math, we know that two sides of an equation must be equal—in a sense, they have to agree. In writing, subjects and present-tense verbs must also agree: if the subject is singular, so is the verb; if the subject is plural, so is the verb.

Let's look at some examples of basic subject-verb agreement:

Singular Plural
The bird chirps loudly.

The boy claps to the music.

The frog catches flies.

 The birds chirp loudly.

The boys clap to the music.

The frogs catch flies.

These examples have subject-verb agreement because both sides of the equation are equal: singular = singular or plural = plural.

Notice how the verb changes in the plural:

  • chirps becomes chirp
  • claps becomes clap
  • catches becomes catch

We can see that the singular verbs end in s or es (chirps, claps, catches), while the plural verbs do not. Remember this rule: when we add s or es to a verb, we make it singular.

The s-ending rule also holds true for the irregular helping verbs be, do and have—the singular forms of these verbs all end in s:

  • Only one light is flickering.
  • That frog has been croaking for hours.
  • Loud noise does bother me.

Here's a tip—usually, if there is an s on the subject, there won't be one on the verb, and vice versa:

  • The bird chirps. [s on the verb, none on the subject]
  • The birds chirp. [s on the subject, none on the verb]
Date Modified: 2012-03-29

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